


Faint of Heart

by fangirlsanity



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, a tiny bit of angst, inspired by that one picture of chanhun at the airport on the way to chile, it turned into a thing ooops, some references to dating scandals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-26
Updated: 2019-01-26
Packaged: 2019-10-16 11:41:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17549024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fangirlsanity/pseuds/fangirlsanity
Summary: Sehun was stubborn and set in his beliefs. But somehow, Chanyeol always proved to be the exception.Or, 3 moments where Sehun acted out of a certain unnamed feeling, and 1 time where he finally got with the program.





	Faint of Heart

**Author's Note:**

> Cuz I've been waiting forever  
> Waiting on this to start  
> Can you lend me your hand  
> I'm a little too faint of heart  
> — "Faint of Heart", The Strike
> 
> This was originally inspired by a picture of chanhun at the airport on the way to Chile. I have no idea how it turned out like this. It just looked like he was about to give Chanyeol an earbud so that they could listen to music together and idk I thought it was cute and was like "I wonder if they listen to music together and if Sehun lets other people listen through his headphones since he wears them a lot."

 

Chanyeol poked his cheek. “Sehun,” he said.

 

Sehun pursed his lips but didn’t pay attention to his hyung.

 

Another poke. “Sehun,” he tried again. “Pay attention to me.”

 

Sehun knew that Chanyeol’s phone had died because he had been sighing for the last fifteen minutes. They still had three hours left in their flight. At first, he kept asking Sehun what he was listening to, even tried to convince him to share headphones so that they could enjoy music together. But Oh Sehun shares his headphones with no one.

 

No one.

 

But Park Chanyeol had always wanted to prove that he was the exception.

 

He had been tossing and turning in his seat. He had taken to try to nap while his phone charged and Sehun had proved to be a shitty seatmate, ignoring all of his attempts to get his attention.

 

He scoffed and scrolled through his music, trying to find the most soothing song in his library. He was about to tap on an audiobook of Samuel L. Jackson reading “Go the Fuck to Sleep” (that Junmyeon jokingly downloaded onto his phone during a random bout of insomnia) but decided to go with a soft piano instrumental instead.

 

This time, he poked Chanyeol’s cheek. “Hyung, you still up?”

 

Chanyeol huffed and turned around in his seat, a pout on his lips. “Oh, so now I’m worthy of your time?” he asked grumpily.

 

Sehun rolled his eyes and plugged one of his headphones in his hyung’s ear.

 

Chanyeol startled and, like a baby with a pacifier, he started to relax. He sighed, a content smile on his face.

 

“Thank you, Sehun-ah,” he whispered, and he knew without looking at him he knew that Chanyeol was giving him a small smile. He huffed in return.

 

“Just go to sleep, hyung,” he mumbled. “We’ll be there soon.”

 

He leaned his head on Sehun’s broad shoulder and Sehun leaned his head on top of Chanyeol’s. He felt Chanyeol sigh and nuzzle his shoulder, trying to get comfortable.

 

They slept until the plane landed and when someone (Baekhyun) posted pictures of them and they went viral, Sehun found that he didn’t mind.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sehun rolled his eyes and tugged on Chanyeol’s sleeve. “C’mon, hyung, if you want one so bad just get one with me,” he whined.

 

Chanyeol pouted and shook his head, “I can’t Sehunnie. I just started my diet.”

 

He rolled his eyes, “If you started your diet, why did you agree to go out with me?”

 

The corner of Chanyeol’s lips quirked upwards in a teasing smile. “You know I’d jump at any chance to spend time with you. It’s not every day you want to go out with me.”

 

The sincere words surprised Sehun. He blinked at the confession before snorting. “You’re so sappy, hyung.”

 

Chanyeol beamed. “Cause it’s true!” He nudged Sehun closer to the door, “Now hurry up and get your ice cream. I want to go home.”

 

Sehun walked inside with a huff. Halfway to the counter, he looked back at the window to see Chanyeol with his back turned, rocking back and forth on his heels. He was probably doing his best to not look at temptation, or something stupid like that.

 

He chuckled under his breath, the start of a plan formulating in his head. He walked up to the counter where he gave the female employee a polite smile. He held up two fingers.

 

“Chocolate please,” he requested from the worker. The girl nodded and moments later, he was presented with two pristine looking ice cream cones and 6,000 won missing from his bank account. He pressed his lips into a thin line as he walked back outside to meet Chanyeol, trying to not give away a shit-eating grin.

 

He all but shoved the other ice cream cone in front of Chanyeol’s face while he attempted to eat ice cream with a stoic, disinterested face.

 

Apparently trying to look disinterested while eating an ice cream cone ended up with ice cream all over your face and not in your mouth, but Sehun tried to play it off.

 

“Sehun-ah,” Chanyeol whined, “I just told you I was on a diet, why did you have to tempt me with sweets?”

 

“Because I know you would feel bad if I bought this for you and you didn’t eat it,” Sehun huffed. “It would outweigh your guilt over breaking your diet.”

 

Chanyeol furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “Are you manipulating me into eating ice cream? Is this a thing that’s happening?”

 

Sehun shrugged. “I want you to be able to enjoy the things you like, hyung. Or maybe I’m trying to sabotage you. No one can have as good a body as mine, of course.”

 

Chanyeol threw his head back and laughed. It was a laugh that reverberated through all of his limbs. He was still chuckling when he took the ice cream cone out of Sehun’s hand.

 

“Thank you, Sehun-ah,” he said with a smile. “I suppose that I should savor this moment. You always make me pay whenever we’re out.”

 

Sehun punched his arm and walked ahead of him, ignoring Chanyeol’s yelp of pain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“I think I’ll stay behind,” Sehun said worriedly. He looked at Chanyeol’s closed bedroom door, where Chanyeol had resided ever since he announced he was sick.

 

He missed the confused looks that the other members gave each other.

 

“Are you sure, Sehun?” Kyungsoo asked. “I can stay and watch over him if you want to go.”

 

Sehun shook his head and gave him a reassuring smile. “It’s fine, Kyungsoo-hyung. You go have fun.”

 

Which is how Sehun ended up in front of Chanyeol’s bedroom door a little while later, wearing oven mitts to hold up a tray with hot soup. A mask covered his face on the off chance that he ended up sneezing Sehun’s face.

 

Yet, he couldn’t bring it in himself to regret staying behind. He knew that if he left with the others, he would have been worrying over Chanyeol the whole night.

 

He sighed and gently opened the door to the room. It was dark but he could see the giant lump on the bed that he knew was Chanyeol. The lump groaned because of the light from the hallway. Sehun bit back a smile.

 

“Kyungsoo-ah,” Chanyeol groaned. “Go away. I just wanna sleep.”

 

“You have to eat, hyung,” Sehun said.

 

Chanyeol slowly opened his eyes and blinked in surprise. The rag on his forehead started to slip off of Chanyeol’s face. “Sehun-ah? I thought you left with the others.”

 

Sehun shook his head. He set the tray on the nightstand and carefully arranged the rag on Chanyeol’s face so that it was lying flat on the forehead.

 

“How are you feeling, hyung?” Sehun asked.

 

Chanyeol frowned. “Like shit.”

 

He chuckled. “Maybe some food will help you feel better.”

 

“But I don’t wanna~” Chanyeol whined.

 

“Well, you gotta,” Sehun teased. “Otherwise Junmyeon-hyung will scold me.” He blinked at Chanyeol innocently,” You don’t want me to get in trouble, do you?”

 

Chanyeol pouted and shook his head, “I don’t want you to get in trouble.”

 

He smiled, knowing he won. “Then sit up and eat this soup. Don’t make me spoon feed you.”

 

Chanyeol groaned when he sat up on the bed, Sehun set the tray on Chanyeol’s lap and sat on the chair next to the bed. Chanyeol ate silently.

 

Sehun took this time to observe as the other man ate. He definitely looked worse for wear. His eyes and his nose were red and runny, and Chanyeol looked like he was having a little trouble breathing in between bites.

 

The washcloth started to slip off his face again, Sehun reached over and took it from him.

 

“I’ll get you a new one before you go to bed,” he explained at Chanyeol’s questioning gaze.

 

Chanyeol nodded and went back to eating.

 

“Thank you for staying with me, Sehun-ah,” mumbled Chanyeol as he rubbed his eyes. “You probably got the short end of the stick by having to take care of me.”

 

Sehun shrugged, “I volunteered, actually.”

 

Chanyeol looked at Sehun in surprise. And then he beamed. It s one of those smiles that rivaled the sun and brightened up the whole room. It distracted from the fact that Chanyeol was even sick at all.

 

Sehun could feel heat rising in his cheeks as he looked away from Chanyeol’s gaze. Maybe he was catching something.

 

“If I were well enough, I would pinch your cheeks,” he admitted with a chuckle. “I bet you just really wanted to make sure I was okay, huh?”

 

Sehun grimaced at Chanyeol’s teasing. “Well, if you’re well enough to crack jokes then I guess that you don’t need my company after all.” He was about to stand up to leave when Chanyeol held a hand out.

 

“Stop! Don’t go!” he whined. “I was just joking, please stay.”

 

Sehun smiled as he sat back down. “I wouldn’t leave you while you were sick, hyung. Don’t worry.”

 

Chanyeol sighed in relief. “Good.” He looked back up at Sehun, almost shy now as he rung his hands together. “Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?”

 

Sehun gave Chanyeol a small smile and nodded. “Okay.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Later, way after Chanyeol had fallen asleep and the others had come back from their outing, Sehun locked eyes with Jongin in the hallway on the way back to his room after spending the majority of his night at Chanyeol’s. Jongin was smirking, he was very confused as to why he elicited such a reaction.

 

“Why are you looking at me like that for?” Sehun asked with a slight glare.

 

“No reason,” Jongin teased, “How was spending the night with Chanyeol? Did he sneeze on you?”

 

Sehun shrugged, “It went fine. And no, he didn’t sneeze on me. But there were some close calls.” Sehun shuddered at the memory.”Why do you ask?”

 

Jongin shrugged this time, “I just thought it was weird that you stayed behind, is all.”

 

“What do you mean by that?”

 

“Oh come on, don’t play dumb with me. If it were anyone else that was sick, you wouldn’t stay behind to take care of them.”

 

“I mean, I was worried about him?”

 

“Are you sure you don’t like him or something?” Jongin asked, his eyebrows slanted as if he was expecting a certain answer from him.

 

He pointed at himself in disbelief. “Me? Like Chanyeol? Where did this come from?”

 

“I’m tired of you answering my questions with more questions,” Jongin said, rolling his eyes. “I’m just saying that you two care about each other in a way that’s different than how you care about the other members.”

 

“That’s dumb,” Sehun huffed. “I don’t like Chanyeol-hyung like that. And he certainly doesn’t see me that way either.”

 

“Okay, I see you’re in the denial stage still,” Jongin said, running a hand through his hair. “So I’ll just leave this be. All I’m saying is you should look at the way you care about Chanyeol-hyung. If you would do things for him that you wouldn’t do for anyone else, then that’s gotta mean something, right?”

 

Jongin waved to Sehun before opening his bedroom door. “Think about it, okay? You’ll save me a lot of headaches.”

 

Sehun rolled his eyes and went into his own room. He immediately collapsed on his bed and buried himself under his pillows and blankets. He thought back on Jongin’s words and shook his head at the idea.

 

There was no way that he liked Chanyeol in a romantic way, right? There was no indication, at least to Sehun, that Chanyeol liked him, of could like him.

 

Sehun slapped his forehead, there was no time to think about feelings. He turned over and buried his head into his pillow.

 

But as he started to fall asleep, he could admit to himself that there was the possibility of feeling something for Chanyeol. That there probably always had been, but Sehun didn’t think of it as “like,” at least not in the way that Jongin was inferring.

 

And he liked Chanyeol, he really did. He was one of the best hyung’s that Sehun could ever ask for.

 

Yet he couldn’t deny that there were moments where there was a potential for his feelings to shift from platonic to romantic. Like as they talked in the car about creating a duo, or when he wrapped his arm around Sehun’s shoulder as they walked down a boardwalk and marveled at the bright lights and the attractions.

 

But if he did like Chanyeol, what point would it make? They couldn’t be anything more than friends and band members, right?

 

Sehun groaned. This was just too much to think about. Feelings were ridiculous.

 

Maybe, if he didn’t think about it so much, these feelings would go away on their own.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was one of their rare days off. And normally Sehun would spend the day laying in his bed with nothing but his phone, only leaving his room when he needed to eat or use the restroom. It was something that Sehun enjoyed doing when he knew that he had nothing planned for the day. He hated to be bothered during these times.

 

But once in a while, Chanyeol would be brave enough to burst in and pop his little cocoon that he made for himself. He would be able to poke and prod Sehun enough to force him to see the sunlight like he was a goddamn houseplant.

 

Sehun looked over to the door and stared,a s if by wishing it, Chanyeol would burst into the room and demand they play Mario Kart or listen to one of his demos or something equally as ridiculous. Something that would make Sehun roll his eyes but he would get out of bed anyway just to see Chanyeol light up like a firework.

 

But no matter how much he wished for it, the door didn’t open. Chanyeol didn’t appear.

 

The day passed by slowly. Too slowly, in his opinion. And when left alone for too long, his mind tended to wander to weird places.

 

Like how lately, Sehun couldn’t help but feel this sense of foreboding whenever it came to Chanyeol.

 

It had started when the group had an emergency meeting with their manager. They had each been told to lay low and not draw any attention to themselves. The media had caught wind of a possible relationship to be made public. Sehun noticed that the manager’s eyes were more focused on Chanyeol than anyone else, and it Sehun’s stomach drop as if it were filled with lead.

 

And sure, the group had their share of dating scandals before. But they always came out on top in spite of them. And when it came to secret relationships, Sehun always found himself in the know way before their manager knew. He prided himself to be the black hole when it came to secrets, if you told him anything, there was no way that it was going to get out through him.

 

But the possibility that Chanyeol was in a secret relationship, without Sehun knowing, didn’t sit well with him.

 

They shared everything.

 

Or so Sehun thought.

 

He also had to admit, Chanyeol had been acting like he was hiding something. It showed inn the way he kept to himself more often and rarely went out with them even when they begged. His shoulders had been slumped more and more, like the weight of something had been bringing him down. He smiled less, which was probably the worst part of the whole thing.

 

He looked up at his ceiling, phone long forgotten at his side and too awake to take another nap, thoughts a wired and jumbled mess.

 

He frowned at the idea that Chanyeol was keeping something from him, but it was more than that, too.

 

Sehun didn’t like the idea that Chanyeol would spend so much time with someone that captured his heart, that would get to see sides of him that Sehun would never get to see. He wondered if Chanyeol would have a secret smile for them too, if his eyes would twinkle the same way. If he would laugh and smile at everything they did.

 

Where did these thoughts come from? Was he becoming the bratty maknae that people accused him of being? Did he really rely on Chanyeol’s attention that much?

 

Judging by how much he wished Chanyeol to burst through the door and spend time with him, all signs pointed to yes.

 

Sehun scowled and threw his blankets to the side, this was getting fucking ridiculous.

 

He stomped down the hallway to Chanyeol’s room, intent on giving him a piece of his mind.

 

How dare he make him feel so insecure about their relationship? He was going to get Chanyeol to tell him what he was hiding even if he had to beat it out of him.

 

Sehun stopped suddenly, a sour feeling filling in his gut.

 

What was he supposed to do when he found out about Chanyeol’s secret?

 

Would he have to meet this person? Get to know them?

 

He bit his lip. The thought of Chanyeol being happy with someone else, the thought of Chanyeol giving this person the same affection that he would give Sehun—perhaps more—made his heart stutter in a bad way.

 

He dreaded whatever answer Chanyeol had, but it was a question that needed answering.

 

His curiosity won out over the sinking feeling inside him. He started walking again, but it wasn’t the angry stomps that he had earlier. His feet dragged along the floor, heavy, hesitant.

 

After what seemed like minutes, he found that Chanyeol’s door was open slightly. He heard two sets of voices coming from the room. One voice was soft and comforting, the other was deep, panicked. There was also the tell tale sniffling, indicating that there had been a lot of crying.

 

Sehun frowned, but crept up to the door anyway, trying to keep his steps light and not give away that he was listening.

 

Sehun peeked through the crack in the door. He saw Baekhyun and Chanyeol sitting on the bed with their arms wrapped around each other. He found that his stomach clenched painfully. At that moment he wanted so desperately to be in Baekhyun’s place, even if the thought of Chanyeol’s tears and snot all over his shirt was less than ideal. At least he knew what was wrong with him.

 

“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” Chanyeol sobbed, holding Baekhyun tighter.

 

“I’m sure it’s not what you think, Yeollie,” Baekhyun said softly.

 

“But what if it is? Everyone’s gonna hate me. Sehun’s gonna hate me. It’ll ruin everything.”

 

“You know Sehun’s incapable of hating you.”

 

“He might after this,” Chanyeol hiccuped. “I thought I was so careful. But I can’t help it.”

 

“It’s okay,” Baekhyun soothed. “You can’t help who you love.”

 

Sehun’s eyes widened. Love? Chanyeol was in love?

 

With him?

 

At the thought, Sehun’s heart beat impossibly faster. He never considered his hyung a possibility, especially since he was under the impression that Chanyeol was straight. But knowing now, Sehun couldn’t help the stupid feeling of happiness that was bubbling up in his chest.

 

Everything fell into place then. The secret smiles, the sudden shyness whenever Chanyeol praised him, the need to be around him and touch him and—

 

He was an idiot to not have seen it before, really.

 

Sehun was brought out of his reverie when Baekhyun’s eyes locked with his. Behind Chanyeol’s back, he motioned for Sehun to come inside.

 

Sehun furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head frantically. There was no way that he was ready to face Chanyeol after such a revelation. He barely had enough time process it himself before being caught eavesdropping.

 

Baekhyun glared and pulled a face that meant ‘You better get your ass in here now and do what I want you to do,’ which was similar to his ‘You left your fucking bowl in the sink without cleaning it and so help me if you don’t wash it I will smack you upside the head’ face. It depended on the context.

 

Sehun sighed internally and opened the door wider and stepped into the room. The creaking of the door made Chanyeol jump and look at the source of the noise, only to freeze when he saw Sehun there.

 

His eyes and nose were red and puffy, Sehun frowned at the sight. Chanyeol, on the other hand, stared at him in shock.

 

 

“H-How much of that did you hear?” he asked fearfully.

 

Sehun scratched the back of his head nervously. “All of it?”

 

Chanyeol looked at Baekhyun in betrayal, his nose and mouth scrunched in anger. “You said those things and you knew he was at the door the whole time?”

 

Baekhyun shrugged, “I know you would never say it to him directly, so I just let you keep talking.” He turned to Sehun now, “Stop lying to yourself, there’s nothing more painful that the people I love holding themselves back for some stupid reason. You both deserve to be happy.”

 

Baekhyun gave Chanyeol one last smile before getting up from the bed. He pat Chanyeol’s shoulder one last time. “I’ll leave you two alone to talk. This has been long overdue anyways.”

 

He walked by Sehun, only giving him a reassuring smile as he passed by.

 

Chanyeol and Sehun simply existed in silence. They looked everywhere except each other.

 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Sehun asked. “You know I would never judge you because of something like that.”

 

Chanyeol shrugged, “You say that you don;t care about girls or dating, I thought that extended to stupid hyungs that wanted your attention. I thought that if I could maintain a close friendship with you, then it would be enough.”

 

“What if it didn’t?” Sehun asked suddenly.

 

Chanyeol’s head tilted at the question, looking at Sehun oddly. “Huh?”

 

“What if all I wanted, or needed, was the hyung that wanted my attention? And who’s attention I wanted in return?” Sehun breathed. He tenderly put his hand on Chanyeol’s shoulder and snaked his way up his neck onto his cheek. Chanyeol closed his eyes and shivered at the touch.

 

“What are you saying, Sehun-ah?” Chanyeol whispered.

 

“I’m saying that you’re the exception, Chanyeol-hyung. You always have been,” Sehun answered, his voice thick with emotion. “You make me do things that I would never otherwise do, like share my headphones or buy ice cream. But I would do that and more because it makes you happy. And you make me happy.”

 

Chanyeol opened his eyes and his gaze bore into Sehun’s own. And in them he saw the tenderness that he knew was reserved only for him. Tears fell from his eyes once more, but Sehun knew that they weren’t sad ones. Chanyeol’s hand covered his that still touched his face. “I really like you, Sehun-ah. When you do those things for me, my heart can’t help but be full with happiness.”

 

Sehun smiled, tears starting to well up in his eyes as well. He wiped Chanyeol’s fallen tears with his thumb. “I like you too, hyung. So stop crying, okay? Let’s just be together. We can take on the world.”

 

Chanyeol cracked a smile, and Sehun thought it was beautiful. Everything about Chanyeol was beautiful, he realized.

 

He was brought into a tight hug, Chanyeol’s face buried in his neck. Sehun wrapped his arms around him as well, basking in the glow of feelings reciprocated and returned tenfold.

 

“Stay,” Chanyeol mumbled, his breath tickled his skin and it filled Sehun with warmth and want.

 

And he decided he would stay. He would stay tonight. And the next. And the next. And forever if Chanyeol wanted.

 

After all, it was hard for him to refuse.


End file.
